Twins Complete Deal For Jaime Garcia, Send Huascar Ynoa To Braves

By Vince Lara-Cinisomo
on July 24, 2017

THE DEAL

After some fits and starts, the Twins finally landed lefthander Jaime Garcia from the Braves along with catcher Anthony Recker for 19-year-old righthander Huascar Ynoa on Monday afternoon.

Garcia—despite mediocre results—represents an upgrade to the Twins rotation as they jockey in a crowded AL wild-card race. After all, they turned to 44-year-old Bartolo Colon for a start against the Yankees last week. Minnesota ranks 26th in the majors in ERA and 27th in WHIP, with its starting rotation ranking just slightly better at 24th overall with a 4.92.

Garcia goes out on a strong note after pitching seven solid innings and hitting a grand slam against the Dodgers on July 21.

BRAVES ACQUIRE Huascar Ynoa, rhp Age: 19

The younger brother of White Sox righthander Michael Ynoa, Huascar received an $800,000 bonus from the Twins in 2014. Not nearly as tall as his 6-foot-7 brother, Ynoa is still a strong 6-foot-3, 221-pounds. Ynoa's best trait is a big fastball that has been up to 96 mph this season. He has a developing slider up to 84 mph and changeup that is a work in progress. If Ynoa can harness his command he could be a starter, but scouts are mixed on whether he starts or relieves going forward. As usual with the Braves, they are gambling on a live arm with a high ceiling but significant risk.

Club	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
Elizabethton (R)	0	1	5.26	6	6	0	25.2	28	1	14	23

TWINS ACQUIRE Jaime Garcia, lhp Age: 31

Garcia's ERA-plus is right at league average (100) per BaseballReference.com, but that represents an upgrade for an underperforming Twins staff. Garcia, a ground-ball specialist, has a 54.7 percent ground-ball rate this season, in line with his career norms and his average fastball velocity is at 91.5 mph per FanGraphs, the best of his career. Garcia uses a four-pitch mix, and his sinker remains his most effective offering. The Twins reportedly will pay all of the remainder of Garcia's $12 million salary, about $4.5 million, which helped reduced his acquisition cost.

Club	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Atlanta (NL)	4	7	4.30	18	18	0	0	113	108	58	54	12	41	85

Anthony Recker, c Age: 33

Recker, a veteran of big major league seasons with four teams, will reportedly be assigned to Triple-A Rochester or Double-A Chattanooga. He is an up-and-down catcher who can provide depth as the season wears on.